In this work, author Steven Levenkron explains the phenomenon of self-mutilation. Written for sufferers, parents, friends and therapists, the book aims to unravel step by step the mindset of the self-mutilator. Le venkron explains why the disorder manifests in self-harming behaviour and describes how the self-mutilator can be helped. Through case-studies and conversations with his patients, the profile of the self-mutilator emerges: someone who is typically fearful of people and abandonment, whose attachments are hostile or tenuous at best, who lacks interpersonal trust and who often cannot stay focused in a relationship of any depth. In a voice that is compassionate and reassuring, "Cutting" tells the reader where to turn for help and offers information on important skills the self-mutilator must learn - what Levenkron calls the "Attachment-Dependency Trust Axis" - in order to overcome the affliction.